Well. Our illustrious Professor has a wee bit of a power problem. His control is being slowly stripped away, and when he takes a moment to notice it, his anger is, of course, turned on to his student. Not unusual in life, however, I suspect that this is a man who is very accustomed to control. Of himself, at the very least. His *pride* is at stake here. Funny, that. Because of this: ...Saw Potter walk away, with the same bloody stride that had carried him in, as though nothing had changed; as though he hadn't been humbled at all, hadn't thought about obedience in the least, but instead had kneeled on all fours on Severus' office floor and had... had... enjoyed himself...Potter had nearly rounded the corner by the time Severus returned to himself, found himself staring at that familiar, too-short, too-proud back--and Severus realised that mere tasks would not break Potter's pride, mulish brat that he was.Not mere tasks...

Hmm. The more he loses control, seemingly, the prouder Harry gets. Or, at least, that's how he sees it. But that really is not the case, is it?

Tsk, tsk, Severus. Are you letting the boy get to you?

*g*Wonderful chapter, and fabulous work. I look forward to the next, as always, with bated breath. Cheers!